WP - Willow Glen Trestle
Description
Replacement opens: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/01/06/bridge-replacing-the-...Earlier story:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/23/the-long-saga-of-the-...
A seven-year battle over the fate of a 99-year-old railroad trestle in Willow Glen has come to an end this week, a crushing blow for the preservationists who fought to save the rustic relic nestled behind million-dollar homes.
On Monday, a Superior Court judge denied a request for an injunction, a last-ditch effort by the Friends of the Trestle group that had argued Santa Clara County had to approve the demolition because of its financial contribution when San Jose acquired the trestle.
By the time the court ruled, it was already a moot point: Crews began demolishing the bridge on Friday, causing significant damage. The work resumed right after the ruling was issued.
[more at link]
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/22/seven-year-battle-to-...
The nearly seven-year-long fight to save Willow Glen’s historic trestle from demolition has been dealt its latest — and potentially final — blow.
The Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose this past week rejected a request by the Willow Glen Trestle Conservancy and Friends of Willow Glen Trestle to reverse a Santa Clara County Superior Court decision last year to allow the city to move forward with its longtime plan to demolish the 98-year-old wooden bridge and replace it with a new one that would help connect the city’s trail system.
City Attorney Rich Doyle rejoiced at the court’s decision during an interview on Friday, saying that he “hopes this is the end of it.”
“We’ve checked all the boxes and hopefully this means that we can finally get this project moving forward so the public can have access to one more trail that’s completed,” Doyle said, pointing out the frustrating barrier that the years of litigation have placed on the city’s ability to complete Three Creeks Trail.
[more at the link.]
Facts
- Overview
- Timber stringer bridge over Los Gatos Creek on Three Creeks Trail
- Location
- San Jose, Santa Clara County, California
- Status
- Demolition started late June 2020, new bridge for pedestrians opened Jan. 2021
- History
- Built 1921 for Western Pacific Railroad; demolished June 2020
- Railroad
- - Western Pacific Railroad (WP)
- Design
- Timber stringer
- Dimensions
-
Total length: 210.0 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +37.31493, -121.90367 (decimal degrees)
37°18'54" N, 121°54'13" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 10/597145/4130372 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- San Jose West
- Elevation
- 120 ft. above sea level
- Inventory number
- BH 66416 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- January 7, 2021: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Replacement trail bridge opened Jan. 2021
- June 24, 2020: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Bridge is being demolished as this is typed
- May 26, 2020: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: In danger of demolition after possibly last court challenges overturned.
- December 2, 2015: Updated by Erik Hoffman: Added category "Rail-to-trail"
- March 4, 2015: New photos from Ian Bowen
- March 4, 2015: New Street View added by James Baughn
Sources
- Ian Bowen - historichighways [at] gmail [dot] com
- Save the historic Willow Glen Trestle
- Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Comments
First the "Secret Sidewalk" and now this.
Tell that to all the massive rail-trails built by liberal/blue state conservationists that reuse actually-historic and actually-notable structures.
Or to all the conservatives that decry historic bridge rehabs as "WASTES UH MUH TAXES" and "It'll never get used, so just bulldoze it!"
Or better yet, keep your political whinging to yourself.
Its what happens in this liberal Democrat hellhole state, history isn't relevant to these ignorant idiots who only care about all their stupid trails, and mansions while everyone else barely makes it by. This is one reason Democrat cities suck. Completely disgusted.
It just kills me that the city tried to sue the state, because they didn't want a legitimate historic bridge to be considered historic!
That's the kind of stuff you get from an ignorant over-paid lawyer!
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ca/santa-clara/bh66416/
I guess I see this one in a different light...its a trestle. There is really nothing all that historic about it. Even if its 100 years old, can we actually prove that the pilings, caps, stringers, etc are that age? I have doubts, as those often were replaced about every 20-40 years. Meanwhile, bike trails have saved far more historic rail bridges than they have cost. In addition, they open up access to those bridges for us to visit. Farmers refuting rail-trail projects in the midwest have cost us a lot of historic railroad truss bridges. Many of those branch lines ended up with all of the 1870s and 1880s stuff, now all gone. I can think of a good 10+ truss bridges in southeast MN alone that are gone because trail projects got shot down, at least 4 of which old photos show to be 1880s or earlier trusses.